Show257
This episode differs from most others in an important way: the murder takes place at the very beginning. Normally, we have 20 minutes or so of seeing the soon-to-be victim mistreating everyone! This of course builds up the suspect list. In this episodes, all of the motivations have to be explained after the fact—a little less effective in my view. Submitted by Ed Zoerner, 9/15/2009.
+ . . but, more like the real world (at least IMHO), where the motivations and details are usually only discovered after the fact. OLEF641 9/22/21
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Holly Andrew's apartment set was also used in 'TCOT Silent Six'.
Perry drives his Lincoln during the accident scene, but is shown exiting a Galaxie at the courthouse. He also changes jackets - exiting the car, he has a white pocket square; in the courtroom, his jacket has no breast pocket.
DOD 04/12/19
+ Ah, the dangers of using stock footage . . . OLEF641 9/22/21
So just who is playing the court clerk? He has a line, but no credit! Queried by gracenote, 5/31/2011.
Continuity: When Perry is getting his first aid kit to help the injured Holly he is standing in the open door of his car facing the interior. When the shot cuts to a closeup he is standing at the rear fender facing away from the car. Kilo 11/6/2018.
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Actually, the murder has happened before the episode even begins and we never see our victim; we do hear his voice, but briefly, and he sounds very much like Edward Platt, best known as "Chief" on "Get Smart". DOD 04/12/19
Another difference is that an important clue to the solution of the murder is given up front. In fact, so many times was that clue brought to the viewer’s attention that for the only time since I have started watching Perry I was able to solve the murder in the first five minutes of the show, which was both gratifying and disappointing. (No surprise at the end.) Submitted by gracenote, 5/31/2011.
+ Me too. The close-up of the watch-face was the clincher give-away for me. A nicely played show, but the solution was too easy. Submitted by catyron, August 2nd, 2018
This episode is a lot like a Columbo episode where Perry (Columbo) figures out how the killer did it while faking his alibi. Submitted by HamBurger, 8/9/2020
Shot Heard 'round the World I don't know that it can be called a plot hole, per se, but does no one question the absurdity of someone shooting someone when they're (essentially) "on the air"? Even if the killer doesn't know who is on the other end of the line, they would know someone is, and thus there's a witness; only an auditory one, perhaps, but the victim could call out a name. And the details definitely have problems: the phone would had to have been off the hook for an extended period, and it's hard to believe the phone company wouldn't have a record of an open line, or a record - non-record? - of where the call from the radio station went to. The detecting miracles of the Perryllel Universe seem to come and go at will. Notcom 102023.